


Lights in December

by Lastavica



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Babies, Best Friends, Childhood Memories, Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Lights, Christmas Tree, Cuz I eat this shit for breakfast!, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, First Christmas, Fluff, If this isn't coping skills in 2020 I don't know what is., Love, Married Couple, New Christmas Traditions, New Family, Newborn Children, Nighttime, One Shot, Patrick Jane is a mega softy and I love Teresa Lisbon!, Post-Season/Series 07, Romance, Somebody get me a spoon, Starting Over, Two Shot, cuteness, going for walks together, i'm obsessed with them, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:34:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27784570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lastavica/pseuds/Lastavica
Summary: There's always that one house in every neighborhood.
Relationships: Patrick Jane/Teresa Lisbon
Comments: 12
Kudos: 23





	1. Christmas Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's always that one house in every neighborhood.

At Christmas time, in every neighborhood, there's always that one house that overdoes the lights. Lisbon's neighborhood in Austin was no different. Two streets over from where the Janes were living, there was a house that had gone completely nuts right after Thanksgiving. That first December of their marriage Patrick liked to take evening walks to go see it. Very quickly it became their nightly custom. After dinner and dishes they would bundle the baby and stroll over to enjoy the lights. Sometimes it was a quiet walk, where there were very few words. They would just look at all the less over the top decorations along the way. Other times it was all laughter and teasing. Some nights the baby was in a bad mood and they were out and back pretty fast. Patrick usually wore the carrier, but once in a while, he'd leave it at home and carry their little son the few blocks in his arms. Lisbon always liked to hold Jane's hand as they walked or hook her arm through his. If his arms were occupied holding the baby, she'd taken to putting her hand in his jacket pocket, like elephants linking trunks and tails. That's what Patrick compared it to anyway.  
Christmas Eve was a chilly night so Teresa went to get a sweater before they left. Patrick stood in the living room, putting on the baby carrier while his son bounced in his little chair on the floor. He talked to him idly as he maneuvered the straps. The infant's grey blue eyes gazed up in the direction of his dad's voice as he sucked on his hands that had found their way to his mouth.  
"Alright, buddy." Patrick said, ready to put Martin in the carrier. He lifted the baby out of his seat and got him situated.  
"Ready?" Teresa asked, reappearing in a comfy looking cardigan.  
"We're set." Patrick grinned at her as he turned to proudly display his son attached snuggly to his chest. Martin's little beanie had slid down over his eyes. Teresa smiled and pushed it back up on his fuzzy dark hair. She followed Patrick out the front door and he waited while she locked it. He had his hand out ready to take hers when she turned to step off the porch. They headed out of the yard and down the sidewalk. Martin, content to ride along with his dad, was mostly quiet. Periodically, Patrick would kiss the top of his head. He walked hand in hand with his wife, neither of them saying much. It was peaceful and they were happy.   
When they approached the house the first thing to come into view as always was the Santa sleigh and reindeer. The lights flashed to make the animal's legs look like they were running and Santa's arm like it was waving. They came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk as they usually did and Lisbon glanced over at her husband. He looked like such a kid, struck with awe and delight.  
"Martin, look." he said, giving his son's arm a little shake. The spectacle reflected in the baby's glassy eyes. The entire front facing side of the roof was lit with green and red lights in the shape of the word "Joy". The hundreds of tiny bulbs blinked in left to right succession. The bushes, the trees, the mailbox, the door, the windows were all lit up too.  
"Their electrical bill is probably absurd." Lisbon said.   
Patrick looked over and couldn't help but smile at her matter-of-factness. He put his arm around her and kissed her temple.  
"What?" she asked with a grin as she leaned against him.  
"I just love you."   
"I love you too."  
They stood there in the darkness for a while, just admiring the vast display of dancing light.  
"You know," she began. "This is our first Christmas as a family."  
Patrick's smile disappeared from his face. She looked up to see the light gleaming in his suddenly tearful eyes.  
"Jane?"  
"Yeah?" he wiped his eyes.  
"What's wrong?"  
He half laughed. "Nothing. I'm so happy."  
"Aw, Jane!" escaped her lips. "Come here." She turned and reached up to take his face in her hands. His hands covered hers and they kissed under the twinkling of a thousand lights. Martin, suddenly squished between them, gave a cry of protest. His parents broke apart.   
"Sorry, baby." Teresa said to him with a laugh and she kissed his chubby cheeks.  
"He's already prudish like his mother!" Patrick joked.  
Lisbon lightly punched him.   
"I'm kidding." he laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder again. Once again she leaned against him.   
"It's cold." she said. "We should go make tea."   
"That's a perfect idea." Jane cheerfully agreed.   
They turned and started for home. The multi colored glow blinked against their backs as they headed down the sidewalk and disappeared into the dark.


	2. Christmas Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patrick, Teresa and Martin get their first Christmas tree as a family.

Patrick inhaled deeply through his nose. "This place smells fantastic!" He said. Teresa smiled, remembering he'd never been Christmas tree shopping before. With Martin strapped comfortably to his chest, he wandered from tree to tree just smelling them and enjoying the cool evening. He spoke softly to his little son about the perfumey pine needles while Teresa searched purposely for just the right tree. Above the little parking lot evergreen forest were strung large glowing bulbs. Over by the door to the trailer office there was a fire going in a big metal bowl. Its toasty aroma blended beautifully with the wonderful scent of the various firs and spruces. Volunteers in santa hats moved around them lifting trees, wrapping them, and tying them to car roofs. The jingle bell on the office door rang cheerfully as people went in and out, paying for their trees or getting a free hot chocolate. It was an altogether delightful experience and it was both Patrick and Martin's first time.

The night before, Teresa had been sitting on the couch quietly nursing the baby when she suddenly asked, "Wanna get a tree?"

"Like a Christmas tree?" Jane asked as he was dunking a tea bag in and out of his cup.

"Yeah."

"Sure. I've never had one." He said, sitting down next to her.

"Seriously?"

"Christmas wasn't much of a thing for carnies. Some of us would have nice meal together. Might have been string lights on a few trailers, but that was it. Angela and I never got a tree once we were married either. After Charlotte was born, we'd always fly somewhere nice for Christmas. We never decorated our house."

Lisbon nodded thoughtfully. "Before my mom died, the first Saturday of every December, my dad used to take us all out of the city to a Christmas tree farm. They had a barn where they served hot chocolate and had goats you could pet and feed. We would walk around and pick out a tree. My brothers and I loved it." Pausing, she unconsciously placed a hand on the cross around her neck. "I haven't gotten one since the Christmas before I lost my mom."

"Well," Patrick offered. "Tomorrow's the first Saturday of the month. Let's go get one."

Teresa smiled. "Ok." Then her face took on her typical expression of thinking practically. "We'll have to get a tree stand and some lights."

"We can get those too." Patrick said, getting more into to this plan.

"I don't have any ornaments." she said. "The box of all our old family ornaments are somewhere in my parent's house. Or maybe Karen and Stan have them now."

"Then we'll get our own. We can start small and get new ones every year. Isn't that what people do? Like an ever expanding tradition?"

She looked at him with a big smile. "Let's do it."

He looked very pleased as he took a sip of his tea. Teresa adjusted her shirt and lifted the baby onto her shoulder. He was fast asleep now and Patrick chuckled at his milk drunk expression. He leaned over and whispered to the sleeping baby. "We're gonna get our first Christmas tree, bud!"

He sat back and looked at Teresa. "He doesn't care."

She laughed.

So, they picked out their first Christmas tree together. Martin fell asleep at some point while a volunteer was tying it to the top of the car. When his dad put him back in his car seat he woke very unhappily and was sure to let both his parents know the whole way home. Back at the house, Teresa took him to the bedroom to try and get him settled and fed. Patrick muscled the tree off the car and into the house. When Teresa crept out of the bedroom, she found pine needles all over the floor and Patrick looking dishelved, standing with on hand on the tree so it didn't fall over. He was just waiting there for her.

She laughed, horrified at the same time. "What did you do?"

"I brought the tree in."

She looked around at the mess and figured it couldn't get worse. "Here, put it on the floor." She said and went to help him lay it down.

"Do you remember it being this... needley?" He asked her.

"Well normally you'd wrap in a sheet or a tarp when you bring it through the house. But, this is why we have vacuums."

"Wonderful." Patrick said, looking at his hands and realizing the sap wasn't going to come off easily.

Earlier that day they'd aquired all the things needed for a Christmas tree; a stand, a festive skirt, and lights. So Lisbon went to get the tree stand from the front porch.

"Ok." She said once it was put it in a spot they could both agree on. "Let's set it up."

Patrick followed her lead as they lifted the tree together and guided it into place.

"Ok you hold it up. I'll tighten it in place." He held it dutifully as she got down on the floor and secured the tree in place. "Ok, let go." She said. He did, hands ready to grab it in case it began to tip over. It stood straight and didn't move. She jumped back up. "First try!"

Patrick shared her look of satisfaction. "Lights?" he asked.

"Let me put some water in the bottom, first." She said and went to the kitchen.

They spent way too much time tangling lights up and bickering amiabley at each other, but eventually got the tree gleaming brightly. Teresa turned out the lights in the room and the two of them sat down on the couch to admire their work. He put his arm around her and she leaned in close. "This is my favorite part."

"Mine too." Patrick said, and as of that last minute or so it was true.

After a little while, he told her he had an ornament.

She pulled away and looked at him. "When did you get it?"

"Oh, a long time ago." He assured her with that confident look that dared her to doubt him.

She pushed his shoulder. "Come on!"

He laughed, put his hand in his jacket pocket it and produced a little paper swan. An unfolded paper clip hooked through its back and was bent into a another hook at the top.

Teresa's face lit up. "You sneak!"

"You like it?"

"More than the first time." she said, taking it carefully from his hands.

He knew she'd kept it and had found it with little effort.

She got up to hang it on the tree. He watched with a big smile on his face. When she sat back down on the couch, she kissed him.

"It's perfect, Jane. Thank you."

"Oh good. I was worried you might be upset that I stole your swan."

Once more she rested her head against him and they sat together in the dark for a long time. The colored lights filled the silence as Patrick's fingers softly brushed her shoulder. It was quite the revelation. Who knew chopping down a tree and covering it with twinkle lights could make a room feel so incredibly peaceful. And the smell was glorious. He didn't know how long they'd been like that when he heard Martin fuss from the bedroom. Teresa had fallen asleep against him, so with great care he extricated himself. Once up, he stood and waited a moment to make sure she didn't wake. Success. Quietly he headed to the bedroom to see what he could do for his son. Most likely it wouldn't be much, but he'd be happy if he could let his wife sleep just a little longer under in the glow of her Christmas tree.

**Author's Note:**

> Martin just sounded so sweet to me as I was writing this little one shot. So Martin it was. :D  
> This came to me last night as I was driving home from work past that ONE HOUSE! lol Same house every year. I love Christmas lights and all string lights and twinkle lights! I love that in that episode in s7 on Patrick's birthday he looks up at the little lantern lights Teresa strung up along the airstream and says "The lights are a nice touch." Ugh!! The DETAILS on that show and the sweetness and growth of their relationship!!! I CAN'T! My heart! And I like to think they kept all the wedding lights up at the cabin after the wedding. ...But I digress. ;) 


End file.
